General Chat

Morning vera and all,

I'm please you slept quite well Vera as you deserve a better night after the ones you've had lately.

Pc is saying 2 degrees and sunny and it is at the moment so lets hope it stays that way as we have lovely blue sky and sun at present.

Big wipe down day so I must get ready and I am hoping its nice Dan again today and not the giggly one as there are two Dan's. Just having a coffee and then a shower I think.

BBL

Good morning all

It looks as though it’s going to be cooler and cloudier today. I hope it stays dry as I must do some washing and want to get it dry outdoors. I have to go in to town some time between 1 and 3 but otherwise I have no plans for the day.

Sorry to hear that your OH is under the weather Mel and hope he feels better today.

I had quite a good night and hope you all slept well too. Enjoy your day whatever you are up to.

Oh is still off colour and has been for the last three days. I think he overdid it cleaning my pond out for me.

All I have done today is make 20 sausage rolls for lunch thinking he would fancy those......no just a couple of glasses of tonic water a small coffee in the afternoon and I made him his orange jelly with manderines in it for his tea as he asked for that. He ate two bowls of that with icecream.

I did a klittle bit of craft this afternoon.

Sounds like you have a nice clean garden now Vera if oh has had the washer out again getting ready for the summer.

Well I forced myself out to do my 2 laps by the ice house. I'm glad I did though as I think the weather here tomorrow may not be as dry as rain is forecast. Annoyingly there were a few adult, younger people there with it being a BH and I saw 7 riding bikes on the footpath in several different groups. No warning bell when they come by you and expect you to move off the path out of their way! It has never been meant for cycles, but people seem to think it is ok to cycle anywhere that pedestrians walk these days. Mothers with babies in prams walk there and I've seen several carers with people in wheelchairs. It isn't fair, especially as there are so many cycle lanes and tracks nearby. Two were just riding round and round.

Vera you OH is doing a great job with the pressure washer. It does make such a difference when the slabs are cleaner. I rinse the mud splashes off the windows with the washer lance held just close enough to do it before moving on to a new patch. It's good if the physio exercises are beginning to help and that you've managed to get some jobs done, but what is it they say......proceed with caution!

I bet it was nice having a meal at your daighter's Gwyn. We are having a lamb roast tomorrow, it's my favourinte too. I wonder when it will be that the swans hatch and how many there will be. Those Gardener's World magazine offers are good aren't they. I seem to remember buying the magazine just for the coupons one year.

Off to bed now.........OH is already there after his long day standing at 2 matches.

Yes the beach walk was chilly but invigorating. It is a lovely beach with grass growing all along behind it. Totally uncommercialised, just one ice cream and take away coffee shop, no amusements. Last July when we were there it was popular with families and children but never looked crowded. They were, as usual doing a good trade in ice creams despite the weather. It must be lovely to live near and walk every day. The tops of my legs are pulling this evening.

Yes Ann we have done quite a few short walks which is good I must keep it up when we go back as I need to stay fit for Dorset in June.

My goodness, what a sleepless lot we are! I also had a bad night. As you know I often sleep poorly but I usually just lie there quietly or I read. Unusually for me, last night I had a niggling concern which was going round and round my brain. Of course, the more I told myself to stop fretting about something I couldn't change, the more worked up I got. Stupid, isn't it? I heard OH get up at 4 am to go to the loo so, as he was awake, I had a little chat with him which calmed me down a bit. I then made myself a cup of tea and went back to bed but knew I was still going to be unable to sleep so lost myself in a book till turned 6 am. I did doze off then and slept till 9.30 am. Needless to say, things don't seem nearly so bad in the light of day.

That was a good walk you had AnnG, though I bet it was chilly with the wind off the sea. Walking through sand can be hard work and can really make your leg muscles ache. I love those beaches that are nearly deserted and you can walk and hardly see a soul. I think that's why I love Northumberland so much.

I know I must start walking more again but I can't seem to get motivated. I have tried to get some fresh air today by doing a little bit in the garden. I've cut down the rest of the penstemon plants and did some weeding and tidying up of other plants. My back seems to have stood up to that quite well. I think the exercises the physio gave me to do are helping. Otherwise I have done nothing today except make some soup for lunch. There's enough left for the 2 of us for lunch tomorrow and a single helping for the freezer.

I shall now go and make OH a cuppa as he must be ready for one. He has had daughter's pressure washer out again and has done all the garden part and the long paved walkway down one side of the house. He just has the shorter walkway down the other side to do and then it'll be all the paving at the front. The patio etc looks a different colour now but you should see the state of my windows :-(. I think he has managed to spray all the dirt and muck from the paths over the glass.

So pleased for you Vera that your day went so well on Saturday.
Some lovely special memories there looking back, but beautiful flowers to enjoy in the future. - What a lovely idea.

Lovely meal at daughter's house yesterday, so we are having our previously planned roast lamb today, - younger daughter's favourite.
It's back to work for them both tomorrow and the local schools return for the summer term too.

Do any of you buy the Gardeners' World magazine.?
May's edition has a 2 for 1 entry voucher for several gardens nationwide. There are also 6 free packets of seeds, - a mix of flowers, herbs and salad leaves.
The magazine is not cheap, but if you are likely to visit gardens or plant those seeds, it would soon cover the cost.

Not long back from visiting the swans.... no sign of young ones yet, but it can't be long now before the eggs hatch. No sign of the 12 mallard ducklings which my daughter photographed there a few days ago either.
I haven't seen any myself locally, but they nest in quite a few gardens around here and is not uncommon for traffic to stop and wait for the little families to cross over the road to the waterway.

Oh yes we did AnnG. I looked up Alonbery as I don't know that coast at all above Workington. The beaches look nice and natural and quite wild how I like them and no-one around either which is good. Soft sand is hard work to walk through so you would feel as if you had walked twice as far. You have done quite a lot of walking on this break. Your weather has obviously improved. as it has here as well and is nice and sunny now. I think I will go out, maybe for the walk, but I want to drive past a couple of local garages as well to see if there is any fuel shortage as I shall need to fill up before much longer.

Missed you there Ann. I slept until 4.30 then just dozed we top and tailed the night between us. Sun is out here now and nice blue sky with fluffy white clouds but not that warm.

Had a half mile walk at Alonbery across the sands. Because the sand is very sof your feet sink a bit which makes half a mile more like a mile.the sun came out while we were there but there was a strong cold wind. It certainly blew the cobwebs away. I bet our legs ache later with the effort though. Back home now for a coffee. The beach there is five miles long.

Morning All...just!

I was up late today as I didn't go to sleep till after 4.00am. Now I feel leaden!! OH has gone to 2 matches so I have the day to myself. Shower and hairwash next and something to eat I think. It's 12 degrees and weak sun here and very quiet in the close today. BBL.

Morning all,

Brightish this morning with some sunshine but its a bit hazey. Just having a sneezing fit....

Pc says 12 degrees and mostly sunny so we will have to see how the day goes.

Got up late because I went back to bed after a visit to the bathroom. Its always the same I shoudl have got up then and stayed up.

Good morning all, heavy rain overnight but dry and brighter now. I think daughter and I are going for a short walk later, otherwise not doing anything. Didn’t sleep that well, woke at 4.30 and then just dozed so tired this morning.

That was a lovely day. Vera, so pleased that it went well. The venue sounds wonderful too. And a lovely idea of the wild flower seeds.

Quite funny here trying to plan a menu while not knowing how long we are going to be here it depends on if daughter or I or both get the virus and when Joe is negative so many variables.
Had a lovely turkey roast this evening really tasty.

Enjoyed your marathon Vera, do love your writings.

What a lovely occasion it was Vera and it was a lovely idea to give people the wild flower seeds. It sounded as if your brother was very popular and well liked. Now you have large vases of flowers too which was a nice gesture as you say.

Happy Easter everyone.

I had a text from daughter late last night to say she had forgotten to give me my Easter egg which she had brought to yesterday’s event with her so I shall get that next time I see her. OH doesn’t “do” things like Valentine’s cards or Easter eggs. I have to be careful with chocolate anyway as it can be a migraine trigger so I will probably let him eat more than half the egg daughter has bought me. It’s a shame for Inara that she doesn’t get chocolate but her parents know her best and she’ll still have her pressies when her friends’ eggs are all gone.

It's a good job you found all the mini eggs Mandy. You can’t be too careful with Max around. I still shudder at the Christmas Day spent at the emergency vets with daughter whose dog had managed to get hold of some chocolate.

Your toms have germinated quickly Island. In fact you all seem to be doing quite well with your veg. I used old tomato seed and none of the larger tomatoes came through but I have 5 cherry toms that have taken their time but are at last beginning to show some proper tomato leaves instead of just the seed leaves. That will be enough for us.

It is another lovely day here. It’s 15 degrees and there is a bit of a breeze but I’m not complaining. It looks lovely and bright and it’s not raining – that’s good enough for me.

Well, yesterday was perfect. We had a very good drive down, though there had been an horrific accident on the opposite carriageway of the A12 and traffic on that side was tailed back for miles. It took us an hour and a quarter and we have never done it any quicker than that. The venue staff had everything set up ready for us but we got there half an hour early to put flowers on the tables and put out some photos to jog memories and get people talking.

The venue couldn’t have been better. It is a sort of complex with different areas for hire. The suite that had been booked for us had its own entrance which went into a large room with lovely tables and chairs and a private bar but that led into an enormous room that had been set out with 8 or 9 large round tables. The rooms had high ceilings and were very light and airy and the one with the tables led out through large glass doors to a small private garden. With the good weather we were able to leave the doors to the garden wide open all the time which helped with the air circulation. There were about 90 people there and it didn’t feel crowded or uncomfortable at all and, although there were other events going on at this complex, we were completely private and didn’t see anyone other than our own guests or staff.

Considering the long distances some people had to travel and the fact that it was a holiday weekend it was a comfort to see how many people made the effort and I think reflects the esteem in which my brother was held. One chap even flew in from his home in Spain specially to be there.

The first 60-90 minutes were spent with people arriving at different times, getting themselves drinks from the bar or tea and coffee which was available to us all the time, and then chatting and looking at the photos. Then brother’s partner said a few words of welcome and one or two other things which did get a little emotional but was well received. Then the staff brought in the buffet. Although we had seen the menu in advance when we saw it all laid out we realized how superb it was; such a variety of foods and plenty of it and beautifully presented. While people were eating and chatting we had a number of my brother’s favourite songs and pieces of music playing in the background.

People started to leave between 6.30 and 8 pm and as they went they were given a packet of wildflower seeds. The front was printed with a heart shaped picture of wildflowers and underneath that were my brother’s name and dates and above the heart it said “Scatter these seeds and grow happy memories”. We were the last to leave, of course, and as we went I was given half of the flowers that had been on the tables, the other half being given to brother’s partner’s sister. I now have my two biggest vases full of roses and tulips. Wasn’t that a nice gesture?

I am sure I have given you far more detail than you wanted to hear but you know me. If I put pen to paper, or rather finger to keyboard, I don’t know when to stop.

Enjoy what’s left of the day and sleep well tonight everyone.

.

It does sound like a lot of eggs but they are tiny little ones not much bigger than your finger nail they had fun finding them and at the end we had two missing so all out to hunt for the last two which dil found .

My runners are coming along lots through and I only planted them last Sunday ,tomatoes are growing well and cucumbers have a good six leaves now ,not sure when I should start feeding those as I can see a little bit that looks like a flower coming .

It's a shame Inara can't have easter eggs but if she's very hyper already chocolate won't help and I'm sure she was happy with a pressie instead ,we use to have to watch the E numbers in things when son was little as we found lots of things that would send him hyper one was a certain make of orange squash, Iuse to have a book with makes of things that were E number free .

Still nice and sunny here, I bet the coast is busy today but a bit on the chilly side as its always cooler on the coast and there's a bit of a breeze at times here which feels chilly when your in the shade.

Afternoon All,

HAPPY EASTER everyone. :-)

That's a lot of eggs as you say Mandy so I hope you get ypur sums right counting them all. I bet the children love looking for them all and collecting them, especially if you have the same nice sunny day for it we have had here.

AnnG OH wore a mask in the lounge and kitchen and we had the windows open too even though it was cold then. The incubation period for covid can be between 2-14 days, but shorter for the Omicron and you are most infectious before you get symptoms. The boosters have no effect on catching it, they just make it less likely to be serious and need hospital. Latex gloves stop medical staff from spreading it between patients, but they won't stop a person with covid who touches their mouth/nose from spreading it to surfaces from the gloves. Surfaces are less risk, but not free of risk. It's spreading fast now as 1 in 3 of us are asymptomatic and don't know we have it so go around mixing as normal. With restrictions all off people are going to work with it as well. Fingers crossed you and daughter will manage to not get it.

It's a shame Inara didn't get an easter egg, and I suppose it is the caffeine in the chocolate that makes her hyper. I have to avoid having much caffeine, so I had a Thorntons white chocolate egg as there is no caffeine in white chocolate. Maybe they like to limit the sugar she has as well though. They have to live with Miss Hyper all the time. :-)

OH has managed to do some weeding on the front so that looks better and has demolished some rotten trellis in the back garden and broken it up to go in the bin. I repotted my 3 strawberry plants, planted more climbing beans and pricked out half the African Marigolds. I have 4 tom seeds through now so that is plenty for us. I then started weeding the thickets in my pots with different mints, but had to stop when my back told me.

It's 18 degrees here and sunny so I might do a bit more weeding of the island beds soon and start to tidy up what has sprawled everywhere so I can add some of my new plants.

Gosh Mandy that is a lot of Easter Eggs. No hunt here of course but at home Inara had a hunt and she had to find pebbles decorated as eggs. Parents won’t let her have a lot of chocolate so she has presents instead. They say sweets make her hyper. Well she is hyper anyway so I think they should let her have one egg. Just my opinion of course and I didn’t buy her choc or sweets.

Island well done with the tomatoes, as you say that was quick. If it has been warm where you are the seeds should start moving now. Today is the first day it has been warm enough to have the bifold doors open.
At least you know the extra tests were not a mistake. Good that you got them anyway.

Yes I think the virus is infectious airborne or close contact so we are doing everything right to avoid it and we didn’t go inside the cafe in case we are incubating it. Not sure on incubation period.

We are just back from a walk just under two miles round the harbour at Maryport. We did stop for coffee and scone sitting outside looking over the harbour. We left Joe in bed asleep and he is still asleep now.

I've just noticed my tom seeds have germinated, they were quick :-0
I'd best check how the outdoor(indoor) sowings are doing.

No easter bunny here Mandy. I expect your little visitors enjoy theirs.